


Chasing cars by the lake

by Craftybadger1234



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Don't copy to another site, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Light Angst, M/M, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:00:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26106835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Craftybadger1234/pseuds/Craftybadger1234
Summary: Harry and Draco on their last night at Hogwarts.This is entirely based on Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol. There's a link to the video inside.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 17
Kudos: 74





	Chasing cars by the lake

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written in a while, and wasn't sure about posting this one. But CleopatraIsMyName is my biggest fan and awesome beta and encouraged me to go ahead. I finally found the time for it! 
> 
> It follows the lyrics pretty closely and uses some of them as dialogue so if it's jumpy or disjointed, that's why. It made me smile, and I hope it does for you too. Tag suggestions are welcome!
> 
> Link to the video for “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol  
> https://youtu.be/GemKqzILV4w

The water lapped quietly on the bank of the Black Lake, but the sound didn’t soothe Harry as it usually did. He’d grown too accustomed to hearing it alongside a heartbeat more familiar to him than his own.

Tension coiled tighter inside him with each passing minute as he waited. Had he blown it earlier today? Ruined everything with a simple request?

And then there it was… familiar footsteps on the path. He sighed heavily in relief, tension melting away as if it never was.

“I wasn’t sure if I’d see you,” Harry said, his voice cracking a little. He could blame the night air if anyone asked. But he only had Draco for company, and Draco already knew it wasn’t the night air.

“I wasn’t sure either,” he said quietly as he stood next to Harry. “But then I didn’t see you at the goodbye party…”

“I couldn’t do it anymore. Smiling, hugging… pretending.” He smiled wryly. “We’ll do it all, won’t we? Be the change we want to see in the world. Or whatever Hermione has decided.” He threw a rock into the water. “Sounds really exhausting.”

Silence fell, but the sort Harry desperately needed. He had Draco here with him, his heart beating in counterpoint to Harry’s. Calm, peaceful.

What would Harry do without this?

“I meant what I said. Before. About getting a flat together.”

Commitment. A plan. The next natural step to Harry, but too big of a leap for Draco. Not completely though because here he stood with Harry.

“Harry…” Draco sighed, resigned.

“I don’t know,” Harry interrupted, a familiar rush of longing stabbing him in the heart. Words tumbled out, picking up where they left off earlier in the day. “Please… There’s so much Draco, and I’ve never been good with words.” He shifted and their arms brushed against one another. “And people… they throw out ‘I love you’ like it’s easy, like it’s nothing.”

“You don’t love me.” His husky words travel through Harry, making him shiver in the very best way. 

“It’s not this? _I love you_ ,” Harry said, testing the words on his tongue. “It doesn’t feel like enough.” How could three little words hold all that he felt? His pinky curled around Draco’s.

“It’s too much.” Draco looked down at their hands, his brows drawn down in concern.

“No. No more of that. Don’t think of it at all.” Harry huffed a laugh, meeting Draco’s eyes for the first time. He hoped he didn’t look as desperate as he felt. But he couldn’t bear it if Draco left him here on their last night. “Let’s just… like last night, and the night before. Let’s waste time chasing cars ‘round our heads.”

“Chase cars?”

“Yeah it’s a nothing thing… just time spent. Together.” He pulled his wand and a handkerchief. “If I lay here…” His hands shook as he enlarged the handkerchief to blanket size. “If I just lay here, would you lie with me... and just forget the world?”

Harry stepped in close, close enough to feel Draco’s chest expand as he inhaled. A soft whisper skittered across his skin. “What would they say, Harry? I can’t do that to you. To us.”

“Draco… forget them. Forget what we’re told. Draco, I - I…” 

His arms came around Harry and held him close. Silent and steady. Their hearts no longer beat in counterpoint, but perfectly in sync. 

Harry exhaled shakily. “I need you. To remind me of… who I am. They make me forget. They make me forget myself. I’m not who they want me to be and I can’t - I can’t -” 

He was slipping away. _Not now_ , his heart whispered.

Smooth hands cupped his cheeks and Draco lightly stroked across Harry’s lips. Brilliant silver eyes glinted in the moonlight, filling Harry’s vision. 

“Stay with me, Harry. Listen… do you hear the lake?”

Harry nodded, closing his eyes to pull the sound in deeper. The warmth of Draco’s hands sunk into his skin. These brief touches, rare as they were, gave Harry something to focus on.

“You’re here with me, Harry.” Draco pressed their foreheads together, his fingers drifting up into Harry’s hair. “And I -” his shuddering breath brushed Harry’s cheek. “I don’t know where or - or how… but that’ll never change for us.”

Harry’s hands wrapped around Draco, molding their bodies together. “Stay with me. Tomorrow. The next day. Forever.”

“I’m scared.”

“Me too. But… for now. You’ll lie with me?”

“For tonight at least. Let’s forget the world.”


End file.
